Howdy people, my name is Thomas. I’m a blogger and huge Japanese enthusiast. Today I’m going to review www.JapanesePod101.com and give you guys a 100% honest opinion on it. I am not being paid or otherwise compensated for this, and all opinions are my own. Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m brutally honest and blunt, so I won’t pull punches in a review. That said, enjoy.

My first impression of JapanesePod101.com was that it looked a lot like what I had come to expect from language learning sites, from Rosetta Stone to Duolingo, I knew the drill and the layout of the main page was the same, bare-bones info page that I always see when I go to a site with a landing page that tries to get you to sign up right away. By comparison, ILL’s main site is much more informative about the company and their services, and actually convinced me to try them out in the first place. Perhaps I’m just too jaded to be taken in like many consumers by a simple ad. I want more info than what they share with their marketing spin all over it. I want facts, features, simply stated and without divisive wording so present in marketing pitches.

The negatives pretty much stop there. This service is wonderful! After signing up, you get a straight-talk offer to get a huge upgrade for a dollar of bandwidth. I took the offer, naturally, though I later had an issue with backing out of the $25 a month subscription it signed me up on. I didn’t realize I could just change my settings for the auto-renewal. It is enabled by default, but when I forgot, they were good about refunding me. I had my money back within a week, not bad for communicating across the globe to do it.

The dashboard takes a bit to get used to, but once you figure out what everything does and where it all leads, it is extremely useful and well-designed, though I would prefer if the lesson videos and series videos were organized the same way. I found that I could find some lessons through the actual lessons tab, and others by picking through the series videos. Maybe I just got turned around in the interface but I didn’t feel like I had a good way to get a singular overview of every single lesson to know how much they covered.

Now we come to the best part, and the reason why I truly endorse JapanesePod101.com. The lessons themselves. Oh, my, god. These people know how to teach Japanese. The videos don’t just teach vocabulary and hope you can pick up the pronunciation by imitation like Rosetta Stone tries to. And unlike that same product, which I used before, JPod never talks down to you or treats you like a child. Rosetta Stone seriously showed me juice and milk to teach me how to say the Japanese words ジュース＆ぎゅうにゅう one of which is just the same word in katakana, which they don’t explain, and the other is never used anymore, instead they use the katakana’d version of it too! Not JPod, they treat you like an intelligent student right off the bat, explaining the basic structure of the language and rolling it right into vocab.

I loved how Risa explained a lot of the concepts, and much to my pleasant surprise, they didn’t just cover lists of words and pronunciation, though they have tons of word lists and very good pronunciation guides. No, my favorite part is that they covered grammar! You have no idea how much, as a student who learned under tutors and college for all of my Japanese learning journey up to now, how infuriating it is to not have the grammar explained! If you know conjugations of verbs, you can teach yourself so many words just from hearing them and reverse engineering them to dictionary form! Risa does an amazing job of walking you through the grammar points and makes them not feel so scary as grammar was for many people who hated taking English.

One big negative that I have to nick them for though, is the teaching style. Now I’m not talking about the lessons themselves, I mean the overall organization of the lessons. Because you can freely float around between lessons, they don’t build upon each other. I am only in semester 3 of Japanese, and I could hop into Advanced and while I didn’t necessarily find it stuff I already knew, I had no difficulty understanding the lessons and mastering the content. If I tried to do that with a college course, I’d get lost very fast. That sounds like a positive at first, but the problem is that you can’t push your students if you make everything somewhat accessible to people with a good grip on the language already. Perhaps they have more structured or difficult content in other areas, but the lessons from Absolute Beginner through Advanced seemed to have no difficulty curve at all which means they wouldn’t push me to get better.

It’s a delicate balance, trying to appeal to masses while also pushing every one of those people to “git gud”, believe me, I know. But in the business of teaching language, you have to make a decision on whether you’ll push your users or make everything more accessible to them so they can learn more content easier. I feel like if the lessons were more rigidly structured in points and built upon previous lessons it would work better. Perhaps if it was organized more like a game where you progress down a linear path but have branches where you can head off into side paths of learning and explore things that are at the same level as what you’re learning now, it would be more effective.

Honestly, I would love to see JPod get into Tangential Learning and “gamify” their content a bit. This IS on the internet after all, most people are used to games from their phones and tablets by now, so they won’t be unfamiliar to basic game UI. That said, this is getting a bit more into “I wish” territory.

All in all, I would highly recommend JPod for anyone interested in learning a language from the ground up or as preparation to get into college courses. It is far better than most of the other kinds of software and websites I have been to, mostly because the videos are very well organized and presented, with comprehensive learning material teaching the basic workings of the language as well as the grammar structures along with vocabulary.

Do you remember holding your first Game Boy? Do you remember the “Golden Age” of Japanese video games? I bet it was the reason to start learning Japanese in the first place for some of us. And you are here reading this article, so you probably have a keen interest in video games!

If you are learning Japanese and you do like video games, this is perfect. By knowing how to read Hiragana and Katakana, and with a bit of foundation in Japanese grammar, I have the pleasure to announce that you unlocked a new achievement: Playing video games to practice Japanese!

After a long day of work or school, sitting down at your desk with an other textbook might be the last thing you want to do. It is a way more fun to use our entertaining audio and video podcasts related to everyday life topics, but video games could supplement your studying. It would be misleading to say any video game can teach you Japanese, but as a supplement of JapanesePod101.com, it appears to be a legitimate and fun tool to study.

Nowadays, more and more games offer you the opportunity to change the language settings to be in Japanese, they are not region locked or requiring to buy a Japanese system anymore. From Animal Crossing to Final Fantasy, choose a game, and check those tips for studying by playing!

1. Choose a genuinely fun game. It’s your chance to have a good time while learning. It shouldn’t be a chore! Take your time and go easy, you don’t want to get bored quickly or to suffocate because learning too much at once. You don’t need to stop and look up for every single word or kanji you don’t know. If you can understand the meaning of the sentence through the context, you can go on, otherwise you will get bored really quickly.

2. Start with a game you are familiar with. It will make it easier to know the framework of the story and understand the context. Try to avoid horror games, you could assimilate negative emotion from the game to studying. It would be difficult to learn Japanese while associating it to the sensation of fear!

3. Take notes while playing game. When you face unknown expressions, just pause the game, and write it down on your notebook. Once you are done playing, use a dictionary and look up each of the words. Learn those new words among other things you are already studying. As the same vocabulary words are often used over and over again, your list might get shorter and shorter.

4. Enable Japanese subtitles. It will help you to identify unknown words and kanji. It will be useful as far as you’re using a dictionary while you play. If you prefer to play with English subtitles make sure you are not only focused on subtitles but also on the Japanese voices. If you realize you are only reading English, better switch everything to Japanese or it won’t be of any help.

5. Make real-world friends. A lot of games offer you the opportunity to connect with people online while playing online. Depending on the game, it could be “learn or die”, you won’t be able to go further if you are not able to communicate with other players. You will meet people sharing the same interest. Just plug in your headset and enjoy conversing with native speakers, which will improve your speaking and listening skills. While playing online and through forums and gaming community, you can get the benefit of immersion.

If you don’t have the resources required to play but you really want to learn Japanese with video games, there is a solution for you: YouTube. Today is the golden age of “Let’s Play” videos on the platform, video showing game walkthroughs. Those video offer you some gameplay clips with audio commentaries by the gamer explaining every step. It can a great listening practice, a native speaker addressing to the viewers in an everyday life Japanese, sometimes using some slang you won’t find in any textbooks! Risa’s adventure videos can also be an alternative full of cuteness and a good material to improve your level! Here is the reason why you should learn slang if you want to become fluent!

September either sounds like back to school or end of holidays. Getting back to work? Well, that’s usually harder, but if the summer didn’t get rid of your motivation to learn Japanese, then you’re about to start on the bleeding edge thanks to:

The 10 Day Hiragana Challenge

The “Challange” is quite simple: within 10 days you’ll be able to perfectly READ and WRITE all Hiragana. That’s all you’ll need to master one of the three alphabets of Japanese language.

From Tuesday, the 6th of September we will release one video per day during 10 days on our YouTube channel, to give you all the resources and tips to learn those Japanese characters. Every day from the 6th to the 15th, Risa will teach you the secret to easily learning 46 hiragana in 10 days.

Don’t miss any video of this upcoming series and not only you’ll know the basics of Japanese pronunciation but you’ll be able to identify a lot words used in everyday life. It’s your best way to get started learning Japanese!

And if you want to access the Full version of the Videos lessons and take this Challenge a step further by learning both Hiragana and Katakana in less than 1 week, sign up for a Free Lifetime Account and enjoy the entire series from the 6th of September!

Hi Japanese Learner, how are you? This is one of the most common question used in everyday life. There are many possible responses to this question and various tons to use.

You must learn those different ways to respond because one answer may fit better, and having a greater range of expression is a sign of fluency. With this Japanese lesson, Risa will teach you the 10 best responses to “How Are You” in Japanese. Here we go!

Yes, Japanese learning games and even video games can help you learn and master Japanese faster and improve overall comprehension. Research studies have concluded that video games enhance traditional learning methods and make mastering a new language like Japanese fun and exciting. Without the firm foundation in grammar and vocabulary provided by conventional learning programs, however, you will not be able to learn Japanese with games alone. But when you combine the solid educational foundation like you’ll get at JapanesePod101 with the benefits of Japanese learning games, you learn faster and retain more than with traditional learning alone.

Let’s now take a look at three of the biggest benefits of using video games to learn Japanese:

Video Games Help Improve Linguistic Skills and Cognitive Development

When combined with a solid foundation in vocabulary and grammar, video games help students improve reading, comprehension, and even speaking skills. The results are even more pronounced in struggling students. According to a recent national survey, more than 78% of teachers noted that learning games, even video games, were effective in helping struggling students compensate for learning gaps in their traditional studies.

So how do Japanese learning games, or even video games, help students improve their linguistic skills and cognitive development? The key is practice, practice, and more practice!
Learning games and video games naturally require the integration of several linguistic skills including reading, listening, speaking, and even writing in some games. And by removing the fear of making mistakes so common in students in traditional classroom settings, students are free to practice the language and further develop their linguistic and cognitive abilities in the process.

Students naturally learn faster and comprehend more when they are forced to use the information often and in real-world situations, even the fake ones created by Japanese learning games and video games. Essentially, this is immersion-based learning or contextual learning very similar to what one experiences when living abroad and being forced to interact with people in another language. So by providing both context and constant feedback, video games allow students to actually use the knowledge they gain in classrooms or conventional study to learn and master Japanese or any new language faster.

Japanese Learning Games Make Studying Fun and Alleviate Stress

Homework, quizzes, tests, and even in-class assignments can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety in students, particularly those who may be struggling to keep up. This stress and anxiety can actually derail a student’s progress and cause them to feel isolated from their more successful peers. But video games and even most learning games are the great equalizer because they help alleviate stress, increase social engagement, and yes, even help students have fun while learning Japanese or any new language.
In fact, research recently published in The Washington Post shows a wide range of health benefits from video games and learning games including the fact that they:

Help Reduce or Alleviate Symptoms of Depression

Help Reduce or Alleviate Symptoms of Insomnia

Help Alleviate Transitory Stress Symptoms

Scientists have indeed discovered that not only can you learn Japanese or any new language faster thanks to video games, they can also provide a wide range of potential health benefits as well. However, learning languages through video games alone is not really a feasible alternative to progressive, structured learning like you find in classrooms or programs like JapanesePod101.

While great supplemental learning tools, video games and even more formal learning games are simply no substitute for structured learning programs for two reasons:

Learning Games Not Designed to Provide a Foundation in Grammar or Vocabulary: Without the foundation provided by structured Japanese learning (classroom or online), video games or even language learning games only teach specific phrases and concepts. Now within the context of the video game, these phrases and concepts make sense but most would have little practical value in the real world.

Lessons Are Not Structured or Progressive in Nature: Structured learning requires students to be provided with basic building blocks of knowledge (like grammar or vocab lessons) that are then expanded upon in a progressive fashion until mastery. Video games and even many language learning games really only quiz and reinforce what students already know instead of providing structured lessons that can be built upon for future learning.

Japanese learning games and even video games are great supplemental tools to help students learn and master a language faster. Scientific studies and recent research reveal that video games can help contextualize formal lessons from structured learning, enhance linguistic skills, alleviate stress, and even provide a wide range of potential health benefits. However, learning languages through video games (even learning games) has limitations and is no substitute for structured lessons that provide a firm foundation in vocabulary and grammar.

JapanesePod101 is the world’s most advanced online learning system with more than 2500+ HD video lessons created by real Japanese instructors. With more than 500 million lesson downloads and 10,000’s of success stories, JapanesePod101 can provide you with a world-class foundation in vocabulary and grammar.

Do you like chicken teriyaki? If so, this blog post is perfect for you. In this lesson, you’re going to learn an easy way to cook delicious chicken teriyaki while learning Japanese. Check out 鶏のテリヤキのレシピ (Tori no teriyaki no reshipi; chicken teriyaki recipe) below! Make sure to listen to the audio lesson and review the words and phrases too!

1. What’s teriyaki?

Teriyaki (テリヤキ) is one of the most well-known and popular cooking methods in Japanese cuisine. Fish or meat (or other types of ingredients) are marinated in sweet soy sauce and then grilled or broiled. We can write teriyaki in kanji (照り焼き), hiragana, or katakana.

5. Japanese Audio Lesson

In this lesson, you will learn how to use hajimeru, tuzukeru, and owaru in Japanese. The conversation takes place in a home economics class at school between a Japanese teacher and some students. The teacher is speaking formal Japanese to her students. The students are speaking formal Japanese with their teacher and informal Japanese to each other. We will also discuss Japanese cooking teriyaki style.

Not only is it possible to learn Japanese in your car, there are 3 great benefits that will help you master the language faster and with less effort.

With everyone so pressed for time these days, it might seem like a daydream to believe that you could learn Japanese in your car—but it’s not! Thanks to a wide range of new technologies and resources, learning a language in your car is easier than ever. Not only is it easy to learn a language while driving, there are actually a number of benefits, especially if the lessons are part of a structured learning program like JapanesePod101. Here are three specific benefits to learning Japanese or any other new language in your car.

How much time do you spend commuting to and from work? Learning a language in your car transforms your commute time into tangible progress towards your dream. So instead of being stressed over how much time you are “wasting” on errands and daily commutes, you can decompress and have some fun while you learn Japanese in your car!

2. Daily Exposure Leads to Passive Learning

Practice makes perfect and learning a new language is no different. The daily exposure you get when you learn Japanese while driving helps improve listening comprehension, pronunciation, and of course helps build vocabulary and improve grammar. Don’t worry: You don’t need to memorize everything as you listen in Japanese while driving. Just having continuous exposure to a foreign language helps you improve your vocabulary, learn faster, and ultimately retain more through passive learning.

3. Learning While Driving is Fun

Learning a new language does require a serious commitment, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun! When you learn Japanese in your car, you get to take some time away from the PC or smartphone and immerse yourself in the language instead of just “studying” it.

Plus, there are a number of “fun” activities that you can do and still learn in your car, such as:
- Singing Along with Japanese Songs
- Playing Word Games or Trivia
- Just Listening Along and Seeing How Much You Can Pick Up and Understand

Yes, you can learn a language while driving and have loads of fun doing it. Now let’s take a look at some specific things you can listen to while driving to help you learn a new language.

BONUS: 3 Ways to Learn Japanese in Your Car

-Listen to Podcasts: Typically designed to focus on one topic or lesson, podcasts are a great way to learn a language while driving. Unfortunately, podcasts are rarely at the same listening/comprehension level as the language learner so listeners may not get their full value. But at JapanesePod101, our podcasts are created for every skill level so you don’t waste any time on material that isn’t relevant or suited to your exact needs.

-Sing Along to Japanese Songs: Remember, just immersing yourself in a language can create passive learning and improve your pronunciation. Plus, with JapanesePod101, you can sing along and memorize the lyrics, and then look the words up and add them to your personal dictionary.

-Playing Word Games or Trivia: There are audio games available online that you can download to any media device and listen to on your commute. Although we recommend this option for more advanced users, games are a fun and productive way to learn Japanese in your car because they require listening and comprehension skills.

You won’t recognize or understand every word you hear in a Japanese song, podcast, or game—but that’s ok. The daily repetition and immersion in the language leads to passive learning that gradually increases your knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. And the greater your foundation in grammar and vocabulary, the more you’ll understand and learn from the audio lessons, podcasts, or whatever you listen to while learning Japanese in your car.

Yes, you can learn Japanese while driving because it leads to passive learning via daily immersion in the language. Although you may not understand all or even most of what you hear at first, the exposure helps improve pronunciation, vocabulary, and even grammar over time. Learning a language while driving also helps transform your commute into exciting “exotic adventures” that secretly teach you Japanese in the process. Podcasts, songs, and even games can all help you learn Japanese in your car while eliminating the “boring commute” in the process!

Hello Learners, and welcome to your Monthly Recap that will make Japanese easier to learn!

Through this post, you will:
- Receive your free ebook in PDF form to easily master Top 1500 Japanese Kanji
- Know the latest update and upcoming features on JapanesePod101.com
- Catch up with posts and video released this month that you shouldn’t have missed

- (Beginner)Must-Know Japanese Sentence Structures #4 - Must-Know Japanese Sentence Structures: Asking About Location or Position
The Sentence Patterns series brings you a great new way to learn Japanese! With this series, you’ll build on your conversation skills by learning the most common and useful sentence patterns in Japanese.In this lesson, you will learn how to use the sentence pattern “Where is A?”

- (Bonus course)Japanese Vocab Builder #54 - Crossing Borders
Our Japanese vocabulary lists are listener favorites, and now we’ve made it even better! In each lesson, you’ll hear the Japanese words and phrases from the Japanese vocabulary lists. Join us for Japanese Vocab Builder!In this lesson, you’ll learn words and phrases for Crossing Borders.

We just started the Super Sushi Ninja Challenge on August 2nd, 2016. You will have until Monday, August 8th to send a video of you ordering Sushi in Japanese, in any restaurant serving this dish. Participants all over the world will get a chance to win a box full of Japanese treats!

- Get the free book in PDF form to easily master 1500 Kanji with your Free Lifetime Account
You’ll learn how to read, write and understand kanji through an easy, step-by-step method. By the end, you’ll master over 75% of the must-know joyo kanji! In other words, you’ll know MORE words and read and understand a TON more Japanese!

- Your WTF deal! Get 30% OFF Premium on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday only!
30% OFF Premium to start speaking Japanese is a big deal. This is why the deal only lasts for 72 hours! Unlock our ENTIRE learning system – ALL audio and video lessons, mobile apps, lesson notes, Premium study tools and more! That’s as low as $7/month and up to $72 OFF for FULL access! Ends 8/5/2016!

Have you ever felt confused about all those -kun, -chan and -senpai you hear when watching anime?. After reading this post your Japanese will sound more natural as you will learn how to use Japanese honorifics!

Learning a new languages is not an easy task. It’s difficult to find one method what suits you best. In this post we’ll tell you about 10 proven simple learning strategies to help you boost your language skill.

Your are more than 396,000 to have subscribed to our YouTube channel, 108,000 to have liked our Facebook page and 18,000 to follow us on Twitter! There is only one word for this: ありがとう!

Your support is precious and the more engaged your are the further we will take you in your way to Japanese fluency. Like it, talk about it to your friends, grandparents or your goldfish, we have tips to improve memory, don’t worry!

The more you’ll share, the more content and free books we will be able to create for you. Let’s keep it up together!